Finding Aids

This collection contains two pieces of sheet music: "Volume for Victory," the song of the A.C.F. (American Car and Foundry Company) and "Hamiltonia," song of the Hamilton Watch Company. The American Car and Foundry, Company was founded in 1899 and is still considered a leading American manufacturer of railcars and railcar parts. The Hamilton Watch Company was founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1892. Among other milestones, it produced the first electric wristwatch in 1957 and the first digital watch in 1970. The Hamilton brand is currently owned and manufactured by the The Swatch Group out of Switzerland.

American Car and Foundry Company is a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock and railcar parts, founded in 1899. In 1901, the company began leasing the facilities of a railroad rolling stock and shipbuilding manufacturer the Jackson and Sharp Company. From the end of World War One to 1938, the plant built small pleasure boats. These photographs document different activities at the American Car and Foundry Company Jackson and Sharp Plant shipyard in Wilmington, Delaware, during World War II. There are several photos taken on the occasion of the presentation of the Army-Navy "E" award in 1942.

Baldwin Locomotive Works was a manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 until 1972. This image shows group of about forty male employes and fifteen factory visitors or managers posed on a 8-inch (?) railway gun mount in the Eddystone, Pennsylvania, plant.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company, established in 1802. DuPont broke ground on the Louviers office building, located near Newark, Delaware, in June 1951 and was occupied by DuPont's Engineering Department beginning in August 1952. This collection consists mostly of photographs of DuPont's Louviers office building. There are some photographs showing the Engineering Department's move from Wilmington to the Louviers Building.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company is a chemical company more commonly referred to as the DuPont company. The company was established in 1802 for the production of black powder. This collection includes publicity photographs from the DuPont Company, many relating to nylon and its uses in World War II. Other subjects include company executives, employees, and stock holders; various factories and facilities; general World War II production awards; high explosives workers; and hunting.

Genevieve Pittner (1917-2007) of Monroe, Michigan, collected roller skating rink stickers between 1941 and 1942, amassing a large collection by exchanging stickers by mail with other collectors. This collection consists primarily of roller skating rink stickers during the World War II era. A large album contains most of the stickers in the collection; stickers are attached to album pages and arranged alphabetically by state.

Numerous United States Federal agencies issued posters throughout World War II in order to support the war effort. The Railway Labor Executives' Association (RLEA) was founded in 1926 as a lobbist group for railroad labor unions. This item is a poster issued by the RLEA titled "Guard the Homefront" and is designed to encourage people to vote.

The Indiana Ordnance Works was built by the DuPont Company for the U.S. Government beginning in 1940. It manufactured military explosives, propellants, and smokeless powder. This collection consists of photographs of the Ballistics Lab of the Indiana Ordnance Works.

The Indiana Ordnance Works was built by the DuPont Company for the U.S. Government beginning in 1940. It manufactured military explosives, propellants, and smokeless powder. The panoramic photographs show overviews of the Indiana Ordnance Works facilities, Charlestown, Indiana.

Leonard W. Walton (1911-2005) was a printing industry executive with Milprint, Inc., which specialized in printing packaging materials, between 1936 and 1976. This collection of photographs related to Milprint, Inc was collected by Leonard W. Walton. A majority of the photographs show Milprint employees attending events, banquets, and dinners, including Quarter Century Club celebrations.

Mark C. Walker & Son Co. was a general contractor firm in the early to mid-twentieth century. The company was founded as Callahan-Walker Construction Company in Omaha, Nebraska, by Mark Connell Walker (1889-1966) and his father-in-law, William F. Callahan (1856-1930), a railroad contractor. Upon Callahan's death, Walker took on his son, Mark Callahan Walker (1911-1999), as a partner. This album, compiled by Walker Jr., documents construction projects during World War II, as well as the post-war western United States. It highlights the impact of public works in the twentieth century. The album contains photographs, text, and newspaper clippings detailing several key construction projects: the Gary Armor Plate Steel Mill in 1942, the Harlan County Dam between 1946 and 1947, and the Orange County Sanitation Plant in 1953. The album also contains photographs and trade catalogs from the company's Polair Mobile Refrigerator Division, which designed and built refrigerated truck trailers for the U.S. Army.

Whittier Cleaning & Dye Works was a small, dry cleaning business in Whittier, California. Mrs. Willhoit operated the business and eventually put her name in the title. This album contains images of the exteriors of the store, the interiors of the store showing Mrs. Whitter working, Whittier exiting a company car with clothing on hangers, a worker at the press, and Mrs. Whittier with an armed serviceman. There are several snapshots of Mrs. Whittier with a group of young women.

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) was chartered in 1846 to completing an all-rail road across the state. Between 1855 and 1874, the PRR underwent rapid expansion and emerged as one of the two largest railroad systems in the area east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio. This collection consists of two interviews conducted in 1998 in West Chester, Pennsylvania with five women who worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

A Liberty ship was a World War II EC2 type cargo ship designed for the emergency ship building program. Over 2,700 of these ships were built. This item is a photograph which shows a stern of EC-2 Liberty ship.

During World War II, the DuPont Company was contracted to produce smokeless powder, TNT and DNT explosives for the military. This panoramic photograph is a group portrait of uniformed guards at a military explosives plant in Memphis, Tennessee, 1941.

The Sperry Gyroscope Company researched, developed, and manufactured navigation equipment; three of the premiere products were the marine gyrostabilizer, the gyrocompass, and the high-intensity searchlight. The company was founded by Elmer A. Sperry (1860-1930) in 1910. Sperry Gyroscope Company photographs and films consists primarily of images of products and inventions developed between 1912 and 1965, a bulk of materials date from 1940 through 1960. The collection has been organized into five series: Personnel; Plants, Sperry School, and Museum; Products; Public Information Department; and Visitors, exhibits, models, and patents.

Strawbridge & Clothier was the last family-owned major department store chain in the Greater Philadelphia area. The store was founded as a partnership by Justus C. Strawbridge (1838-1911) and Isaac H. Clothier (1837-1921) on July 1, 1868 at 8th and Market Streets in Center City Philadelphia. This collection contains photographs, negatives, transparencies, lantern slides, glass negatives, slides, audio tapes, videotapes, and films from Strawbridge & Clothier. It is valuable to those researching all aspects of retail: history, architecture, department stores, shopping malls, employment, operations, promotion, advertising, fashion, and merchandising. Other topics include family-owned businesses, distinguished Quaker families, business response on the homefront during World War II, the Gallery and Market East, and Philadelphia and its environs. There are also proposal albums from the Pavlik Design Team of store design for the Cherry Hill, King of Prussia, and Willow Grove stores and from Neil/Carter Design Associates for Heritage Hall in the Market Street store.

The collection consists of four World War II posters related to women in the workforce. Women on the Home Front worked in war industries and volunteered for war-related organizations, excelling at historically male-dominated trades such as welding, riveting, and engine repair. Their contribution was essential for the production and supply of wartime goods.